The Dragon Lord's Empire
by bachiari
Summary: Hiccup didn't mean to start an empire, really. All he ever wanted to do was to protect the dragons. AU in which Hiccup accidentally achieves world domination after leaving Berk.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Dragon Lord's Empire  
>Author: bachiari<br>Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD no matter how much I want it to be mine ;-;  
>Summary: Hiccup didn't mean to start an empire, really. All he ever wanted to do was to protect the dragons. AU in which Hiccup accidentally achieves world domination after leaving Berk.<p>

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><p>Part I: The Making of a Dragon Lord<p>

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><p>Leaving Berk was difficult. Not the actual leaving; since he had Toothless, it ensured that an escape would be virtually impossible to notice or stop. But the emotional aspect was hard for Hiccup to swallow. To leave everything he had ever known behind?<p>

But killing a dragon was _not_ on his to do list, and there was no way Hiccup was going to risk Toothless by trying to convince the Vikings of the good in dragons. So, in the end, Hiccup gathered all his most precious possessions as well as some necessary provisions, and left Berk on the back of Toothless.

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><p>The first time they landed was to get provisions. Living the nomadic life was fun, but finding food in the woods was not Hiccup's ideal way of life. Toothless did his best to teach Hiccup how to hunt, but Hiccup preferred to let the night fury do most of the hunting. They found a place to camp near the river, and although his insides were in turmoil over the fact that he had just left everything he had ever known behind, Hiccup fell asleep in the matter of minutes.<p>

Hiccup and Toothless kept to themselves most of the time. Although Hiccup and Toothless couldn't use speech to communicate, body language was more than enough. Hiccup never felt lonely, even without holding conversation, and as such, quite enjoyed being a solitary figure after living all his life as the outcast in Berk. No one expected anything of you when you were alone in the wilderness after all.

Social constraints had fallen away, and here, with just Toothless as company, Hiccup was no longer Hiccup the Useless.

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><p>They traveled most of the time. Toothless never seemed to get tired, and Hiccup could never stop enjoying the exhilaration of flying. He had gotten used to falling asleep on the dragon's back, and waking up leagues away from the surroundings he had last seen. Hiccup trusted Toothless to lead them away from any dangerous situations, and Toothless never disappointed.<p>

The two of them never stayed in the same place often. Hiccup did wind up going into town every now and then; he had to find some way to ensure Toothless' prosthetic remained intact, after all. The humans he did come into contact with were more than willing to be helpful, and while Hiccup did enjoy their company, he knew it would be too risky to stay any longer than a few days. After all, people would start asking questions that he couldn't answer.

A year of this nomadic lifestyle passed before they came across something that drew their attention. Hiccup had been flitting in and out of most towns they traveled through, and had been astonished by the many differences between each one he had visited. Different languages was the first obstacle, but body language went a long way in getting his point across. But the food and the weather conditions were what really impressed him. He had never tried such exotic flavors before, and to experience warm temperatures made not only him more cheerful, but also made Toothless ecstatic.

They had traveled almost across the whole world, and had been closer than ever to Berk when Hiccup witnessed something spectacular. A human speaking to a dragon! He didn't understand the language, but that was enough for him to slow Toothless down and catch a glimpse of the spectacle. It was only moments later that he was shocked again. The dragon actually responded!

It was there that he learned about Dragonese.

The Wanderers were a hard bunch to convince at first. Luckily they spoke Norse, but just like other Norse-speaking individuals, they were a hard-headed village and refused to listen to him. However, as soon as they caught sight of Toothless, their whole attitude changed. He was assigned a tutor right away, and after a month of studying diligently and using Toothless as a study guide, Hiccup was holding longer and longer conversations with his best friend.

But although the wanderers were amazing, the great unknown called to the pair, and after one more month of studying, Hiccup realized that they had to leave. The whole village gathered to say good-bye (Hiccup highly speculated that they were actually sadder to see Toothless go than him, but wisely refrained from making that remark) and he was gifted a Dragonese dictionary as a good-bye present. After promising he would visit soon, the pair was off.

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><p>Conversing with Toothless was always a treat. The dragon always looked at things with a fresh new perspective, and even helped Hiccup to design more and more fascinating things when he had a forge at his disposal. The prosthetic was looking better than ever, and Hiccup had more and more tools at his disposal. Tools that could be both used to augment his offense, which he had been studying more and more of in an attempt to prove to Toothless that he was <em>not<em> a weak little human, and tools that helped in everyday things, like fishing, flying, and cooking.

It was a month after they left the Wanderers that Hiccup found himself in another extraordinary situation. He had fallen asleep on Toothless like countless other times, and had awoken to a flock of dragons around them. This had happened before, but this time, Hiccup knew Dragonese. And he was startled to find that the dragons were in a right panic. They pleaded and begged Toothless for help, marveling at the human that was on top of the night fury's back. Toothless had been hostile at first, but after being assured that Hiccup would come to no harm, had quieted down and had listened attentively to the tales the dragons told.

It wasn't long before the whole picture was painted. Their alpha was sick, and the dragon nest was in dire need of a savior. It didn't take much convincing for the pair to decide they wanted to help; after all, not only was this something they hadn't experienced before, but they also wanted to help the dragons.

Hiccup was worried that he wouldn't be able to help the alpha, but after catching glimpse of the problem that ailed him, Hiccup was filled with relief. Just like Toothless, the alpha needed a prosthetic in order to move around. He had lost a tailfin, and Hiccup had an easy solution to that problem.

Long ago, he had designed a prosthetic that would allow the night fury to fly by himself. He had presented it to Toothless, only to be growled at and within seconds, the contraption was ripped to shreds. He had been furious then, angered that his month's work had all went down the drain. But after realizing Toothless only wanted to fly with him, he had been moved to tears.

He still had the design, and after reassuring the dragons that their alpha would be right as rain in a few weeks' time, the dragons were overjoyed. They pounced on him and bounced around him, showing their thanks and happiness in a way they only knew how. He surprised them then, laughing and enlightening them to the fact that he spoke Dragonese. They had been startled, but after a while, enveloped him and Toothless into a community that was structured just like the humans'.

It was three days before Hiccup found the time to go find a forge. The dragons were too excited over the fact that Hiccup could speak Dragonese, and had insisted on giving the pair of them a grand tour. Hiccup was amazed; there were so many types of dragons that he had never seen and he was given a glimpse of how the nest operated. The dragons operated under a caste system, and just like humans, they also had something like the royal family. There were 'nobles', except this was filtered out by fighting and hunting prowess rather than separated by birth. Each dragon had their own niche in the society, and Hiccup was strongly reminded of his own hometown.

The village was situated at the bottom of the mountain, dangerously close to the opening of the dragon nest. It was small, but their fields were plentiful, full of ripe crops for the picking. When Hiccup arrived, he was startled to find that his entrance preceded him, and the whole village was there waiting for him.

He had slipped in without Toothless, thinking that the dragon would startle the villagers, and was shocked to still see a grand welcoming. The reason why became apparent almost immediately when as one, the whole village bowed to him. He was too astounded to speak, and could do nothing but stand there as the villagers pushed different kinds of gifts into his hands. Most of them were freshly harvested crops, but the rare trinket was pushed into his hands as well.

Luckily, the nest was in a Norse-speaking area, and as such, he was able to question them on their intentions. Apparently, throughout the grand tour the dragons gave him, they had passed by many of the villagers again and again, and it soon dawned on them that this man was not only riding one of the dragons, he was actually conversing with them. While this village wasn't at war with the dragons, the dragons still sometimes raided them for the fresh treat of the different kinds of crops they grew. They were a village focused on farming, and as such, had no way to fight back against the dragons. Hiccup's heart went out to them; he knew just how hard it was to keep a village going.

He gave them back their tributes, shaking his head and saying the only tribute he demanded was free access to their forge. He promised them that he would talk to the dragons, and ensure that there would no longer be any dragon raids. They had fallen to the ground once again, bowing and calling him the Dragon Lord. Hiccup was startled, but after a moment's consideration, thought he rather liked the moniker.

It took a month, but with the village helping him every step of the way, Hiccup was able to finish the prosthetic with ease. The alpha was overjoyed at being able to fly again, and extended a permanent welcome to the pair.

Toothless and Hiccup accepted without hesitation; they loved the nomadic lifestyle, and always will, but it was time for them to settle down. The dragons rejoiced in their decision, and threw them a celebration that lasted a week.

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><p>After the celebration finally died down, Hiccup visited the village to tell them the good news. There, he learned about the pirates that would occasionally come by and terrorize them, demanding a sacrifice of girls each them as they did. Hiccup hated bullies, and after bonding to some of the villagers quite closely, didn't hesitate to assure them that he would take care of the problem.<p>

He had only told Toothless about it, but the day they were going to set off to show the pirates a lesson, a dozen other dragons were there with him. The other dragons were a young, energetic bunch, drunk on the idea of glory, adventure, and fun. It didn't take much convincing on Toothless' part to convince Hiccup of the merits of letting them tag along.

It only took a day to find the pirates, and less than an hour to exact retribution on them. The pirates surrendered quickly, and the girls that were sacrificed were rescued. He was lucky Toothless convinced him to let the other dragons come along, because otherwise, there was no way he was going to be able to take the girls back to the village. The dragons at first balked at the idea of letting someone ride them, but when Toothless reminded them of the many merits of Hiccup as his rider, they seemed excited to receive the girls. It took longer to assure the girls that the dragons wouldn't eat them, but in the end, each dragon had a girl on their back.

When they had taken off, the pirates had asked him who he was. Hiccup didn't want to give them his real name, and in the end, decided to give them the name his village had given him. The Dragon Lord. He also didn't hesitate to remind them that the village was under his protection, and he would exact punishment on those who dared attack them.

After returning the girls to the village, Hiccup came up with the idea of setting up a treaty with the village, acting as translator so the two different communities could meet. With the dragons offering protection and possibly companionship and the villagers promising Hiccup free access to the forge and the occasional offering of the different crops they grew, the treaty was signed with ease.

And with that, the Dragon Lord's Empire had begun.

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><p>AN: I have always loved HTTYD with a fierce passion, but never really thought of contributing to the fandom itself until reading the Antic Repartee's Hitch-Ups. After reading the whole thing in one sitting, I found myself obsessed once again with HTTYD. So I wrote this as a response to a prompt on the HTTYD kink meme -"Where Hiccup and Toothless fly off on an adventure and return to Berk having achieved world domination completely by accident."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Red Death

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><p>It wasn't long before there were visitors to the village. The pirates were vocal about their sound defeat by the Dragon Lord, mostly because they wanted to salvage their pride by claiming Hiccup wasn't a human and possessed power that could only come from the Gods. Hiccup didn't particularly care what kind of stories they were telling, as long as the fact that the village was under his protection got out.<p>

Life in the village only got better. Before long, the villagers started to treat Hiccup as if he was actually their ruler. The chief of the town deferred decisions to Hiccup, and most of the villagers hung onto his every word. While Hiccup was grateful for their admiration, he was still uncomfortable whenever they got too admiring. It reminded him too much of his time back in Berk; every time he saw the admiration shining in their eyes, he would think back to the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs. When it got too overwhelming, he found himself spending more and more time within the nest, and only sneaking to the forge when necessary.

Because he found himself in the nest more often than not, Hiccup spent that time conversing with the alpha. The alpha of the nest was a gentle creature, and was still eternally grateful for what Hiccup had done for him. A dragon's most precious possession was its flight, and since Hiccup had given it back to him, the alpha had extended a permanent invitation to Hiccup and Toothless.

While dragons didn't build huge palaces for their alpha, the dragon still had a place he called his own. The alpha's place was at the top of the nest, and many times, the dragon could be seen overlooking the community as the day wore on. It was full of different kinds of trinkets made by both humans and dragons alike and were all gathered throughout the years of the dragon's long life. As Hiccup got closer to the alpha, he finally learned the dragon's name. Most dragons didn't tell him their names as soon as he met them because learning a dragon's name was a sign of complete and utter trust. He had learned Toothless' real name as soon as he learned how to speak Dragonese; however, the night fury had insisted that Hiccup continue to call him Toothless, as a tribute to their relationship. The dragon felt as if Hiccup had given him a new life through their bond, and to change his name to Toothless only showcased that.

Toothless and he also learned things about being an alpha. Windwalker was patient in his teachings, and spent most of his time pointing out aspects of his ruling to the pair. Just like the humans, the other dragons came to Windwalker to settle any disputes and to ask advice on matters. And just like his father, Windwalker usually dropped everything he was doing to help his dragons. Windwalker insisted they follow him as he made his rounds around the Nest, and seeing how the pair had nothing better to do, they accompanied the alpha as often as they could.

The nest that Hiccup adopted as his only had a population of around thirty, which was around the same number of villagers. It had used to be bigger, Windwalker had explained, but when he had lost his ability to fly, his authority as alpha had waned and some dragons had simply left without even an apology or explanation to the alpha. Hiccup had refrained from asking more, especially because it seemed to be a sore topic for the alpha.

An alpha's first duty was to his dragons, and the thought of being unable to provide for them had hurt Windwalker's pride. Still, the alpha didn't let that bring him down, and worked tirelessly to keep the Nest running. Every dragon had his own role within the Nest, and it was up to Windwalker to keep them under a strict schedule.

Feeding used to be difficult for the dragons. Most of them were expected to hunt for themselves, and while that was fine before Hiccup had come along, the treaty made it a bit more tricky. They weren't allowed to raid the village anymore, and as such, had to keep to the seas to find the fish they so desperately craved. It took Hiccup a week to figure out a solution, and even then, he had readily relied on Toothless for help. He called them fish traps, and they did exactly as their name suggested. Dragons weren't helpless, but they were on the lazy side and preferred to laze around in the sun than to actually do anything strenuous. As such, they loved the fish traps, and were blessedly happy doing absolutely nothing to get their food.

There were all kinds of roles for the dragons. Some made trinkets either by carving wood with a sharp claw or expertly manipulating metal with their fire. Others relished teaching the young, and there was even a little nursery set up by the main spring. The Nest consisted of a waterfall that fell down from the top into a bubbling spring at the bottom, with plenty of different plant species surrounding the main spots. In the long expanse of the waterfall, there consisted a multitude of levels that acted as housing areas for the different types of dragons. It was the best system because the water was accessible to all at a moment's notice and it helped divide the Nest evenly.

The Nest was full of so many different types of dragons that it made sense that housing areas weren't specific to one type. Almost all types of dragons got along well with each other; the only difficulties were finding out the small details, such as how to keep a Deadly Nadder's tail from poking a dragon by accident as they slept. Just like humans, dragons liked to have a place called their own, and even spent time showing off their personal possessions to anyone who showed an interest. The main reason the grand tour had taken so long in the first place was because every dragon had insisted on showing them their housing area.

Toothless and he had been given the level underneath the alpha's as a sign of gratitude for restoring Windwalker's flight. It had been meant for at least four adult-sized dragons so it was far too big for just the two of them. Hiccup had missed having a bed, so the first thing he did after getting a glimpse of the space was to go find one. He was about to make one when the villagers insisted on giving him one of theirs as gratitude for saving the girls as well as establishing the treaty. It had been tricky to move in, but the dragons had all pitched in to help. He had also gotten some other furniture from them, such as a dining table, materials for a fireplace, a wardrobe as well as storage chests, and even a desk to draw blueprints on. He was working on trying to make a forge there; after all, it wasn't as if he didn't have ready access to all types of fire thanks to the dragons.

Toothless hardly took up as much room as him, but even he ended up dragging in some things he liked. In Toothless' side of the level, the night fury had dragged in a huge rock that he used as a nesting area. The night fury had found a rock that could retain heat well and heated it up often with his fire before laying down. Toothless was also fascinated with the wood carvings that some dragons enjoyed doing, and had even been experimenting with making some of his own. Hiccup had to admit that the night fury had been getting better, even though the scratching of the wood sometimes made it hard for him to concentrate. The thing that took up most of the room in the level was the numerous amounts of tailfin prosthetics. With so much time on his hands, Hiccup had ended up making a multitude of different colored ones as well as experimenting with the material he used. Toothless didn't care really; color hardly mattered to a dragon and he trusted Hiccup's taste enough to let him choose the one he wanted. He had even made one with the Berk crest on it, and had ignored Toothless' knowing look.

All in all, the two of them had already carved out a place of their own within the Nest. With each passing day, the place was starting to feel more and more like home.

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><p>It was a few weeks later that one of the dragons from the raid on the pirates approached him with a favor to ask. The Deadly Nadder was a deep shade of purple with shades of blue shining on her wings. She had first approached Toothless, who had then convinced her to go to Hiccup with the same request. While Hiccup was well-liked in the nest, most dragons only tolerated him because Toothless continued to sing his praises. Most were still in bafflement over why Toothless would let a mere human ride him, and wondered openly why Hiccup was still inside the dragon's nest, especially when he already seemed to get along well with the villagers.<p>

Toothless, on the other hand, had already established his position in the dragon's nest. Some dragons had jeered at the night fury at first, poking fun at the fact that Toothless couldn't ride without Hiccup. While the insults seemed to slide right off of Toothless' scales, Hiccup couldn't help but to take it personally. It had taken many days to convince Toothless of the merits of flying on his own, and while they did still use their old saddle whenever they rode together, Toothless did have his own prosthetic to use. The only reason Toothless had accepted the contraption at all was because of how many of the dragons had issued a challenge to the night fury. While Toothless didn't seem to think he needed flight to beat most of the dragons, Hiccup was terrified when he had witnessed the first fight. He could barely stop himself from running in there to stop the fight and the only thing that kept running through his mind was the fact that Windwalker had told him that sometimes dragon duels went to the death.

Toothless had won in a manner of minutes, but the damage it had done to Hiccup's nerves lasted long past. Hiccup had immediately claimed they were leaving until Toothless had convinced him otherwise, quite insulted that his human thought he was going to lose. Hiccup had stormed off in a huff, immediately heading for the forge in the village, and not emerging until he finished his project.

Of course, Toothless thought that the prosthetic gave him the okay to accept more dragon duels, and thus, Toothless ended up fighting every dragon in the nest except for Windwalker, who had never issued a challenge. Hiccup was there for every fight, terrified out of his wits that this was the day he would lose his best friend. He _hated_ senseless violence, but Toothless was too proud to refuse a challenge.

As soon as the dragon duels had finished, the dragons had accepted both rider and dragon as their own. And even though Hiccup wasn't privy to the dragon ways, even he could tell that Toothless was given status similar to a noble in the human community. He had laughed over that with Toothless more than once, claiming that it reminded him all too well of Berk. And since Toothless was now considered high up in the dragon hierarchy, the status also transferred over to Hiccup. Dragons now treated him with respect and some even listened to him when he issued commands, even when they weren't about human matters.

Hiccup was blindsided by the Deadly Nadder's request. In all his days spent in the dragon's nest, he had never even thought that one day the dragons would want a rider. He had always assumed that only Toothless would deign to a human rider, and only because their bond had been forged out of necessity. Hiccup had wanted to feel needed and Toothless hadn't been able to fly without him.

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><p>Hiccup was a bit hesitant to step back into the village; after abandoning them for so long, he wasn't sure how they were going to receive him. After putting it off for a week, and subsequently getting the death eye from the Deadly Nadder each time they ran into each other, Hiccup mustered up his courage and headed down the mountain. It was a short fly down to the town, and a slightly longer stroll to the town's entrance. Immediately, shouts of recognition were heard, and he was being crowded by the villagers' young. They were beaming and joyously exclaiming greetings to Hiccup. Before long, they were clambering over him, much like the dragons back in the Nest, and soon, the parents were chuckling as they walked over to relieve him of his new additions.<p>

He sheepishly met their gaze, but found that he needn't have worried. The village had gotten along fine without him, and even if he did take a long leave, they wouldn't begrudge him for it. The people he were close to before greeted him as if he had never left, and Hiccup found himself enjoying the flow of the conversations around him.

While talking with the dragons was always fun and interesting, Hiccup had grown up with humans and as such, found their presence familiar and comforting. He was immediately invited to dine with them, seeing as he had walked in at noon, and Hiccup couldn't find a reason to say no. He had been subsisting entirely on fish and the herbs he found around the mountain, so when he had first taken a bite of the roasted rabbit they had presented to him, his mouth was assaulted by flavors he had long forgotten. He had to stop talking as soon as he had taken his first bite, and the villagers had watched him worriedly as he seemed to process the food.

After a minute, Hiccup realized that they were all staring at him, and flushed; he really wasn't used to human contact after spending so much time with the dragons. He hurriedly assured them that the food was amazing and that he just wasn't used to so much flavor. The villagers had burst out laughing at his comment and a villager teased him that he was spending way too much time with the dragons and not enough with the villagers if he didn't even remember what human food tasted like!

Hiccup had sheepishly bowed his head, and the villagers had continued to laugh. Contrary to the times in the village, their laughter wasn't aimed at him, they were laughing _with_ him. It made all the difference and Hiccup truly felt as if he belonged to their village. It felt _good_, and Hiccup found himself promising to visit much more often.

It was after the meal time that he finally spoke up. He didn't know why he was so worried; they weren't Berk and they only had a favorable view of the dragons after the treaty. They knew he was associated with dragons and they still loved him. But he couldn't help expecting to see the village turn on him, calling him a traitor and forbidding him from ever coming back.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he couldn't help flinching and looking downward at his hands. He was terrified to meet their eyes, and all the confidence he had built up in the wilds out there seemed to dissipate. When no sound happened, Hiccup dug his nails into his palm, shaking almost imperceptibly. He hadn't been rejected for so long; he was used to people hanging onto his every word, and to be suddenly pushed back into memories of his past brought unappealing feelings into his heart.

He was finally startled into looking up when he was embraced tightly by thin arms. Soft black hair tickled his nostrils and he reared backward as it finally registered that a _girl_ was hugging him. He only met another pair of arms behind him, and he flinched as his head hit something soft. When he finally calmed down, he realized that the girls hugging him were the very ones he had saved from the pirates.

It was obvious, they had said when prompted for an explanation by Hiccup, that he was scared and hurt. His words had trembled and he looked on the brink of tears when he had told them about dragon riding. It was a little silly, they had teased, considering that they already knew he was a dragon rider. He had almost broken down and told them the story then, about how just a year ago, he wasn't a Dragon Lord. He was Hiccup the Useless, when his ideas were scorned at and he was the butt of every joke in the Viking village. That no matter how many useful inventions he made, no matter how many times he had helped his father into bed after another day of grueling work, he was called useless every time he headed out for the day and followed and ridiculed by the twins and Snotlout. That even when the Vikings themselves were using the very weapons he had crafted, they _still_ considered him useless.

But somehow, their open admiration in their eyes and the welcoming presence he felt sitting there in their Grand Hall, swept those feelings away. When he had glimpsed their Grand Hall and had eaten their cooking, he had been swept back into the past. He had expected rejection, and when no one had talked, he had only been further reminded of how utterly _unwanted _he used to be.

But they weren't Berk. And _they_ didn't think he was useless. He was their Dragon Lord, and it was high time he remembered that. Just because he was among humans again, didn't mean all of them thought badly of him.

The villagers didn't mention his momentary weakness and instead most of the younger generation simply changed the topic by volunteering to meet the dragons. The older ones didn't mind meeting them, but most didn't feel as if they were ready to become a rider. After all, they have seen Hiccup in action, and all the flips and turns the night fury did was simply terrifying when viewed from the ground. Hiccup had laughed and then agreed, knowing that Toothless and he were daredevils.

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><p>It was a few days later that he met the group in a glade, full of soft grass, direct sunlight, and trickling water nearby. It was halfway between the village and the Nest. The Deadly Nadder seemed nervous, stalking from one side to the next as Toothless calmly waited next to Hiccup. Hiccup was just on edge; he knew that the dragon was on her best behavior, but he still worried about dragons and humans meeting for the first time.<p>

The girls and boys came as a group, and Hiccup was startled to find that every girl they had rescued from the pirates had come along. When asked, a girl responded that when Hiccup had saved them, they had come to associate the dragon they had rode to safety with a good thing, and had been waiting to ask him about dragon riding.

The meeting took a few hours and was full of a lot of tiptoeing around each other. The boys were more hesitant than the girls, if only because the girls had met the Nadder before. Within an hour though, the group found themselves at ease and they were relaxing as if the Nadder was simply a friend, and not a dangerous predator.

The girl the Nadder had chosen was the very one who had hugged him before. She was named Heather and had a wry sense of humor much like his own. The Nadder and Heather bonded instantly, and although it would take her a long while to learn Dragonese, it seemed as if they were already well on the road to forging the bond between a rider and a dragon.

It was only a few days later that other dragons started to approach him with the same request.

It didn't take him long to get the same group back to the glade. Some dragons walked away without choosing a partner, but it was only to be expected. He promised them that the elders of the village would be willing to try out dragon riding soon, and it was only a matter of time that they too shared a bond with a human.

Toothless was overjoyed to see more people realizing the strength of having a rider. The dragon seemed even more vocal about Hiccup's praise, and countless times Hiccup walked into the tail end of conversations that made him flush red. Toothless was looking more and more smug, and seemed to walk around with an air of superiority. It was silly more than annoying, and Hiccup good naturedly rolled his eyes at it as he continued to work at training the new dragon riders.

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><p>The riders took to it fast. They were always eager to come to training, especially when they found out that they were going to be meeting near the Dragon Nest. There was five of them in total: three boys and two girls, paired off with one gronkle, two deadly nadders, one timberjack, and one monstrous Nightmare.<p>

As time went on, the five riders started calling themselves the Lord's Guard, and when practice ended, started to trail after Hiccup like lost puppies.

In the beginning, Hiccup had suffered through the blatant hero-worship and later on, their need to protect him. But eventually, when he could feel them following him into the wee hours of night, he was at his wit's end. He was just about to confront them when Heather's Deadly Nadder went missing.

Heather was inconsolable, babbling and crying all at once, and begging Hiccup to help her. Luckily, Heather had made a necklace out of one of her dragon's scales and thus had a way to track the dragon. At first, Windwalker had advised Toothless and Hiccup to not find her, stating that the dragons that had deserted had left in a similar fashion. But Hiccup was positive that the Nadder would never abandon her rider like that, no matter how lacking she considered her alpha to be. He refused to believe that the bond between a rider and a dragon could be so easily broken.

Although Toothless wasn't a tracker dragon, the scale proved enough for the night fury to gain the general sense of where the Nadder had gone. The rest of the Lord's Guard had wanted to follow him, but he had firmly disagreed. If something bad had happened, then he wouldn't have time to worry about them.

He set off minutes after the argument had taken place. An hour into their flight, a flock of dragons surrounded them, startling Hiccup into pressing himself onto Toothless' scales. Something told him that these dragons weren't friendly; they were flying too erratically and none of them had called out the customary greetings between two dragons that didn't know each other.

A few minutes later, and Hiccup caught sight of a mountain, not unlike the one that housed his Nest. He was at first wary to enter another alpha's Nest without permission, but something was awfully wrong. After quietly conversing with Toothless, the pair decided to take a risk and check out the Nest. It wasn't hard to sneak in for there was a multitude of dragons flying into the mouth of the mountain. With Toothless' dark scales and insane speed, they were able to hover from shadow to shadow, successfully stealing into the Nest.

They were shocked to see the inside. Unlike their Nest, where nature was abundant, this Nest was full of Death and smelled strongly of blood. Where the majority of their Nest was a bubbling spring of clear mountain water, this was a mass of nothingness that seemed to go on forever. While there were many more dragons in this one, they were weak and frail looking, looking like they were going through the motions rather than actually living. It was a far cry from the dragons he was used to seeing; they were more playful than not, and each one had a visible personality. These were...they were shells of what a dragon actually was.

While he was lost in thought, the dragons had continued to carry out their chores. He had almost missed the Gronkle traveling to the center of the massive sinkhole, but the sudden cease of noise caused him to look upward. It was obvious that the Gronkle hadn't brought enough food, and the other dragons were waiting with bated breath to see what would happen.

Hiccup almost fell off Toothless when he caught glimpse of the other alpha. It had surged upward with massive rows of teeth and a powerful jaw, and had snapped the Gronkle up in one crunch of its teeth.

All the other dragons scattered, and Toothless followed suit, using the shadows again to ensure the alpha wouldn't notice them. When they were finally out in the open, safe and sound, Hiccup finally let go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

While he was affected by the gruesome nature of the other alpha, he was more affected by the glimpse he had gotten right before they had blasted out of the Nest.

He had seen Heather's Deadly Nadder.

* * *

><p>Windwalker was furious when he found out about the other alpha. Alphas were supposed to protect their own, he kept on shouting furiously in Dragonese and ending each shout with a long stream of curse words.<p>

Hiccup wisely refrained from commenting, simply letting the old dragon work off his steam. Their alpha wasn't only mad at the other alpha's mistreatment of her dragons; he was furious that he hadn't been able to keep his dragons from her mind control.

It was a few hours before Windwalker started making sense again. The alpha had settled down onto its belly, and Hiccup couldn't help but to think how small the alpha was compared to the one he had just seen. Especially compared to all the grand trinkets that littered the alpha's place.

The alpha was known as the Red Death. Apparently rumors of her exploits had gotten out to other Nests, but the extent of her deeds had never been discovered. Most had thought they were just rumors, and thus, hadn't moved to stop her.

Apparently, alphas had a way to control their dragons. Most didn't use it because it was demeaning and went against everything an alpha was supposed to be. It was even ruder when the mind control affected those from different Nests. Apparently, if the alpha attempting mind control was stronger than the other alpha, the dragon would lose all sense of control and simply fly straight toward the nest.

There was no cure. The only way to stop it was to either kill the other alpha outright or to present a stronger alpha. And while Windwalker was a kind, intelligent, and resourceful alpha who took care of the dragon Nest's many problems, he wasn't very strong outright. Especially compared to the dragon that had surged out of the Nest. There was no other option to save the dragons other than to mount a full frontal assault against the other Nest.

Hiccup _really _didn't want to start another war. He enjoyed life without Berk, and one of the main reasons was the lack of violence in the wild. He didn't particularly enjoy confrontation and he quite valued his life now that he had found a place that he belonged.

But his sense of justice wouldn't let him ignore the happenings. Those dragons had lost a sense of themselves; they looked like they were barely alive. The thought of that happening to his Toothless scared him down to his very core. He pitied Heather; just imagining that one day Toothless would ignore his commands - ignore their _friendship -_ to fly off into the open sky was like a nightmare.

But to fight other dragons, he would need more help. Their nest only numbered as a population of thirty, and having the Lord's Guard would only help marginally. The other alpha had an army of dragons.

He, in good conscience, couldn't even make use of the dragon riders. They had no protection against fire, dragon claws or bites, and even the simple fact of gravity could kill them. He didn't want to see anymore people die, and that was what war with the other alpha would bring if he let dragon riders fight alongside him.

No, to fight the Red Death, he would need dragons.

* * *

><p>Windwalker was adamantly against the idea. To take over other Nests was just as insidious of a deed as the Red Death's. He was appalled that the pair would even come up with such a dastardly plan.<p>

Hiccup had argued that he wasn't going to _take_ over the other Nests, just beat them in a couple of fights until they were willing to fight for him. He wasn't looking to become the alpha of multiple Nests; the thought of it was terrifying enough. He wasn't leader material and he and Toothless were just two minds. How could they even attempt to control the amount of Nests they were planning to hit?

It took three days for Windwalker to finally see the merit in his idea. Hiccup spent those three days in the forge, finally getting to work on the armor designs that he made long ago. It didn't have to withstand up to to human weapons, but it did have to protect him from dragon fire and claws. He had never actually thought he would ever need to use it; he had never planned to fight against dragons and thought that every dragon was good inherently. Of course, his thinking was completely wrong. There were good dragons and bad dragons, just like humans.

Although Toothless had beat every dragon in the nest single-handedly, Hiccup hadn't done a thing to earn the dragons' respect. But this time, the new dragons had to respect _him_ and Toothless. Just having dragons on their side wasn't enough; if it was just dragons versus dragons, there was no telling who was going to win. But if he was able to strategize and direct them toward places that needed them, then they had a much higher chance of winning.

No, this time, he and Toothless were going to fight _together_.

As soon as Hiccup had told the night fury about his plan, the dragon had protested immediately. In the beginning, the night fury had been smug at his proclamation, thinking that Hiccup had such strong faith in his abilities to beat every other dragon in the world. But after hearing that Hiccup would be accompanying him, he had immediately snapped a denial.

But they didn't have the luxury of time. More and more dragons were being lost to Red Death's control, and while her army was growing, theirs was staying exactly the same size. They needed to convince other Nests as fast as possible, and as such, they needed to fight as many dragons as possible.

"We'll do it together, bud," he had reassured his best friend, "As one, no one can defeat us."

With the surety shining in his expression, he knew Toothless couldn't say no.

With a heaved sigh and a shake of his head in resignation, the night fury agreed.

* * *

><p>To be safe from dragons, he would need to utilize the only thing that could withstand their hits. He had found the material long ago, when the fishing contraptions he built for the dragons kept on falling to pieces. It had taken ages to find, and he had resigned himself to having to rebuild the fish traps every week. Toothless had been the one to spot it; there was this material that was underwater that the dragons stepped on constantly, and somehow the running water and the dragon's claws had done nothing to harm it. Fire hardly damaged it; it wasn't fireproof but it was resistant enough that it would serve its purpose well. It didn't take him long to come up with a design; he had crafted many throughout the years and it was only a matter of picking which one he wanted. The material was a sleek black and took him a week to learn how to craft. It was only through high temperatures that he was able to work with it; he had relied on a friendly Gronkle's fire rather than Toothless' in order to achieve the high temperatures. It took about a week to finish crafting, and covered him from head to toe.<p>

When the armor was finished, Hiccup decided it was time to look into offense. While Toothless had his plasma blasts, Hiccup had to come up with something that wouldn't kill, but would be a hindrance to the dragons they planned to fight. As such, he came up with a contraption that would bypass the need for strength. He had never had huge hulking muscles, and just like he had told Gobber so long ago, you didn't _need _strength to take down a dragon. He had used a similar device on Toothless long ago in Berk, and it took nothing more than a press of a button to activate.

However, this time, the invention wasn't as bulky and could be easily held with two hands. It was sleek and black, almost the same color as Toothless' scales, and had an opening for something to be inserted. It was extremely similar to a bow, but relied on machinery rather than strength. While he had entertained the ideas of arrows, the fact remained that he didn't want to hurt the dragons. He had to come up with something else. As such, he had come up with a variation of the dragon nip that they had found so long ago on Berk. When strained and mushed together into a liquid, it was able to knock out even the heaviest of dragons for hours. The dragons he tried it on were not very happy with him afterward, but hey it was for a good cause, right?

It wasn't easy coming up with something that could hold the liquid _and _pierce a dragon's skin. It took him days of planning, but eventually he had used the concept of the Deadly Nadder's offense. The dragon used its tail to shoot venom out, and the spikes that came out were usually sharp enough to pierce through most dragons' scales. It was effective, but the wound was small enough that it would heal up after a couple of hours.

The second kind of 'arrow' he had come up with used the many discarded eels that the dragons had kept in the Nest. Dragons were lazy creatures, and whenever an eel would find its way into the fish traps, they would simply drop it into a deep hole at the bottom of the Nest. As such, there were more than a million dead eels within that hole.

After confirming with Toothless that it was mostly the smell that caused the dragons to back away, he realized he could use it to make a no-dragon zone. Toothless had described the smell as something horrendous, and most dragons couldn't continue smelling it for more than a few minutes before passing out. After being reassured that the smell never harmed permanently, Hiccup tried out his concoction in one of places in the Nest. He was happy to find that no dragon had stepped in for more than a minute before rushing back out.

The arrow held a small delicate vial that would break open the minute it hit the ground with a high force. It would cover an area for at least two hours before dissipating into the air.

The last offensive item he had come up with was a whistle that blew at a frequency that threw off most dragons' aim. It was a last resort, simply because the noise bothered Toothless as well. But if he ever was separated from Toothless during the fights, he was going to be able to at least hold his own until Toothless was able to get back to him.

It didn't take him longer than a week to craft the necessary materials. The Lord's Guard had accepted the fact that they weren't allowed to come along to his 'adventure' as they called it, but they still insisted on helping him out. Mushing up dragon nip took time and effort, but luckily with such eager workers, the task was finished quickly and efficiently.

Before they left, Windwalker approached them with a good-luck charm. It was made out of one of his lesser scales, and attached to a strong silver chain. With it, the pair should be able to shake off another alpha's mind control. It was more of a resistance rather than actually being foolproof, so they still had to be careful.

"Don't worry about us," Hiccup had promised earnestly when he had caught sight of Windwalker's distraught expression. "We're Vikings, after all. It's an occupational hazard. We'll be back before you know it."

* * *

><p>It was only a day's flight to the nearest Nest. Most dragons built their nests in mountains, if only because humans hadn't found a way to break into one yet. They were guaranteed isolated spots, and with their wings, it was easy for dragons to enter.<p>

Toothless landed at the foot of the mountain, his ears standing straight up at attention to catch any sounds around them as Hiccup started to set up camp. It was too late to challenge the alpha now, and it was essential that they weren't found out until the morning. It hardly took any effort for Hiccup to finish; although they hadn't been out on the road for a year, some habits could never be forgotten.

They were settling down for the night, the fire crackling low when Hiccup spoke. He was nestled against Toothless' side like old times, the scales bringing more warmth than the fire ever could.

"You know, bud, when we left Berk, I never could have imagined that we would be out here now."

Toothless paused in the midst of washing his scales, "_What? Fighting dragons? Of course not, this is a Hiccup scheme through and through."_

"Hey!" he shouted, offended. Toothless simply laughed in the way he always did, only making Hiccup flush even more. "You agreed to it!"

"_I'm only stating that everything you do is extremely unpredictable. Am I not right?"_

Hiccup scowled darkly, folding his arms together in front of his middle as he mock glared at his best friend. Toothless hardly seemed to notice; the dragon had returned to cleaning his scales.

"Fine, fine, you're right. I admit, this plan does have its flaws. But we have to try something, and I'm not going to wait around till the Red Death tries to steal you."

"_Is that what you're pouting about? I'm stronger than any other dragon, no alpha is going to be able to control me."_

"That's what you think," muttered Hiccup, a frown on his face as he remembered his glimpse of the Nadder's listless eyes.

"_Hiccup, our bond will protect us. Never before has there been a friendship between a dragon and a human, let alone a dragon rider. And why would there have been? Humans have always been our prey, and predators don't play around with their food."_

"Nice to know that you think I'm food."

"_I'm only stating the facts. We're something different, Hiccup, and the villagers were right when they called you the Dragon Lord. We're going to change things, and make things better. You have nothing to worry about besides staying on my back. I'll take care of the dragons tomorrow."_

"Hey! I'm not the weak little thing I used to be," he protested, and got a dragon laugh in response. "You gotta admit that my weapons are pretty cool."

Toothless didn't even deign to respond, and after a nuzzle to the neck, Toothless settled down to sleep. "_Good night, little one_."

"Good night, you annoying reptile."

Toothless' answering laugh filled the air, and Hiccup fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

><p>They were up before the sun, and it took mere minutes for them to finish packing up their campsite. They hadn't caught a glimpse of a dragon yet, but there were multiple signs of dragons all around the mountain. Hiccup was a bundle of nerves, bouncing on top of Toothless and jittery enough that he could barely hold onto his weapon.<p>

"_Can you settle down up there?" _Toothless asked exasperatedly with a hint of fondness mixed in. "_I can barely concentrate what with you bouncing around like that."_

"I can't help it! I'm so worried and nervous and what if my weapons don't work? Maybe these dragons _like_ eels."

"_Who cares about your little weapons? I'm a night fury, in case you don't remember."_

"Uh-huh, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself."

"_You little humans are so strange. How could my parents be lightning and death? That doesn't even make sense."_

"Hey, all we saw of you were flashes in the air and you rained death upon all of us. And you never even took anything! Can you blame us for thinking you were descended from the gods?"

"_Right. Thanks for making up a legend for me, it truly warms my heart to know that the humans all fear me."_

"I really should _not_ have taught you sarcasm," lamented Hiccup.

He got a dragon laugh in return, and before he knew it, they were flying toward the entrance of the Nest.

Although his heart was beating a hundred times faster than normal, Hiccup couldn't deny that he felt exhilaration as well. It reminded him of the first time Toothless and him went on a test drive, and they had no one but each other to save them from certain death.

They hadn't even been able to communicate to each other yet, and they had already trusted each other with their lives. It was crazy to think that the two of them could take on a whole nest of dragons and win.

But he had Toothless' back and Toothless had his.

Together, there was no way they could lose.

* * *

><p>AN: thank you everyone for reviewing/faving/and alerting! :) So many of you guys responded that I was inspired to write the next chapter super fast (i didn't do anything but write write write the last few days) ! :D So thank you guys and hope you liked it! I'm actually really happy with this chapter.

Special thanks to johnnylee619 for reading over one of the parts, and to everyone else I asked about dialogue! I had been planning to not insert any, but they convinced me otherwise :) Hope you guys like Toothless!

Also, since Hiccup would be visiting many nests, do you guys think it would be too early to introduce Valka? I'm still not sure if I want them to meet so early, or wait until Hiccup meets Dargo. Let me know! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

><p>They had been waiting for an hour at the edge of the entrance. The sun had risen long ago, and even Toothless seemed to be getting annoyed. "<em>How could they not have any sentry dragons out here? The idiocy of this nest is appalling," <em>the night fury continued to grumble underneath his breath, and Hiccup started to rub soothing circles on Toothless' scales in order to get him to calm down.

It was rude to enter a Nest without the alpha's permission, but it seemed as if they would have to stake out the place for hours before any dragon would notice them. The place seemed deserted and if it wasn't for the many footprints littering the dirt of the island, Hiccup would have thought they had come to the wrong place. It was even ruder to draw attention to oneself instead of waiting patiently, but the pair was on their last nerves.

After a moment's consultation, Toothless opened his jaws and gave a mighty roar. The place reverberated with the sound and within seconds, Terrible Terrors had dashed out from behind trees, their little wings beating quickly to stay upright as they observed the strange duo.

"_Who are you? And why is there a human on you? Is he a snack?" _

"_Snack?" _piped up another Terrible Terror. "_I haven't tried human before_. _Do you think he's tasty?"_

Toothless bared his teeth at the smaller dragons, but Hiccup was the one to answer. He wanted them to know that they were different, and the fastest way to do so was to show he knew Dragonese.

"My name's Hiccup, and this is Toothless. We would like to see your alpha, if possible." He kept his tone polite, and refrained from snapping back at the dragons.

As soon as he spoke, the dragons reared backward in surprise, and it was minutes before the dragons started chattering again.

"_He speaks our language! How? You understand us?"_

"Yes," he replied politely, "and I'm not a snack by the way. I'm a dragon rider."

"_Dragon rider? Does that mean what I think it does?"_

"_We're partners," _replied Toothless.

"_But you let a human ride you? How could a night fury allow a human to control him?"_

Toothless answered with a low growl, and only stilled when Hiccup placed a firm hand onto his neck.

"Please," he murmured, and was satisfied to see the terrors jump in surprise again. "Everything will be explained when we meet your alpha."

The terrors glanced at each other, and after a minute's consideration, the leader of the terrors spoke again. "_Follow us."_

The flight to the alpha was full of interesting sights. He had only seen his Nest and the Red Death's and was fascinated to be privileged to view another. The new Nest didn't feature a huge waterfall; instead, this one seemed to be a bit less organized. This one was full of less nature, and instead featured large rocks that seemed to hold the housing areas of the Nest. Dragons watched them curiously from the ground, stopping their day's work in order to watch the group fly by. While there were many more dragons in this Nest, none of them seemed to be as healthy as his dragons back home. His dragons had a more vibrant color in their scales and seemed to be more energetic and less as if they had just been worked to the bone. Hiccup knew it was because of the fish traps he had designed for them as well as many other contraptions, but he also suspected that the Nest was also undergoing some harsh times as well.

It seemed as if the Red Death had hit this Nest as well.

* * *

><p>The alpha looked up as they approached, causing Hiccup to shiver under the intense gaze. Toothless seemed just as unnerved, and Hiccup could feel his best friend's muscles tensing as he got ready for flight.<p>

The alpha moved _fast_, and within moments, Hiccup found himself face-to-face with the dragon. "_You dare to bring a human into my Nest?" _ The words were spoken calmly, but were no less deadly in the extreme silence of the place.

"I dare," responded Hiccup, "because I am no mere human."

The dragon was just as stumped as the terrors were, rearing back in surprise and falling back a few feet. "_You speak our tongue."_

"I do," and he finally let a little of his personality show, "And believe me, it was _not_ easy for me to learn."

The dragon watched him wearily and seemed to struggle to find words to respond. "_Who taught you? The night fury?"_

Hiccup couldn't help snorting a laugh at the thought of learning Dragonese from Toothless, "There's a tribe called the Wanderers. They taught me how to make these noises with my throat, and gifted me with a book that taught me further."

"_Ah, I have heard of them before, but never had I heard such a fluent human. Conversing with your night fury has taught you well."_

Hiccup smiled at the words of praise, "Toothless has taught me many things. Some even more precious than the gift of language."

"_You two are close,"_ observed the alpha, and Hiccup could tell that the dragon had finally caught sight of the saddle Toothless wore. He probably didn't understand what it was, but he did know that it wasn't customary for a dragon to wear one.

"We're best friends," he supplied, a smile on his face as he remembered just how true those words were. "But it's deeper than that. I'll give my life for him and he'll do the same for me."

"_It is not customary to see a human and dragon this close."_ Hiccup nodded thoughtfully at the alpha's words, a small smile on his face as the alpha puzzled out his thoughts. "_You have given me much to think about. The world is changing faster than I thought it was."_

"It is," conceded Hiccup. "But I didn't come here just to show you the bond Toothless and I share. Just how _is_ your nest faring lately? Any dragons just up and desert?"

The alpha seemed to be unnerved by his frank question, but because he was impressed by the bond the two shared, the alpha had seemed to decide to answer truthfully. _"It's a sore topic, but a few of mine have left."_

"There's this alpha out there. She's crazy big and ruthless enough to use her status as an alpha to bend other dragons to her will. She's taken dragons from my nest as well, and I can't get them back unless she's stopped."

The alpha regarded him with one eye, before nodding slowly. "_You want our help_."

"I need dragons to fight back," he responded truthfully, "and my nest has been hit too hard to mount a full-frontal assault without help."

"_Something does need to be done about the alpha, but my dragons would never consent to following a mere human."_

"But I'm not just a human. With Toothless here, I'm a dragon rider and our bond allows us to do things that have never been done before. Let me show you just how powerful our bond can be."

"_Are you challenging me to a duel?"_

"I don't want to be alpha," he hurriedly reassured the dragon, "but I do need to prove myself to your dragons. And the fastest way to do that is to challenge them."

It only took the alpha minutes to decide to accept, and after conversing with his strongest warriors, the duel was set to be tomorrow at noon.

* * *

><p>They needed to find someplace to hide. Luckily, Hiccup's black armor helped with this, blending in with the shadows of the towering rocks. When Hiccup had designed most of his weaponry, he had nature in his mind; he had never imagined that the first nest they were going to visit would consist of such a desert habitat. There weren't even any green on the sandy surface and the rocks were more of a hindrance than a good thing. Although they could use them as a hiding place, the rocks presented too many obstacles to utilize Toothless' wings.<p>

It was really unfortunate considering Hiccup had been banking on their superb flying skills to help them out. It looked like it would be a combination of trying to single out each dragon in order to win this one. It was just the two of them against the world, as always, and it would be much easier to fight one on one then to fight them all at once.

He had spread the eel smell around them already, far enough away that it wouldn't bother Toothless but close enough that the dragons wouldn't be able to approach them without passing out. The enclosure they had found helped greatly with this plan, but they wouldn't be able to hide out forever. The other dragons already knew where they were so it was only a matter of time before they were able to find a way in.

The only thing they had left was his dragon nip. He had tested an arrow laced with dragon nip on a dragon the other day in order to ensure that they worked on this Nest as well as his own. The dragon had dropped like a rock, purring happily as it had escaped into unconsciousness. But arrow by arrow wouldn't work. It was too slow, and Hiccup didn't trust his aim well enough. He had thought that they could leave a narrow way for a dragon to make its way in on its own and then shoot it as it was charging in, but knowing his luck, he would miss.

But if he could somehow find a way to make a trap in order to make them all drop utilizing the nip and the whistle, they could definitely win this. The sheer amount of numbers on the dragons' side was actually to their favor, none of them would dare stop to check the surroundings when all of them thought there was no way Hiccup and Toothless could win.

He set to work building the trap, using the materials he had stored away in this pouch before he had left his Nest. It wasn't hard; all he needed to do was rig the top with large amounts of dragon nip. With Toothless' fire, they should be able to turn the nip into gas, which would hopefully knock them out as well as the arrows. And with the whistle to hold them in place as well as newly placed eel arrows, there was no way the plan could fail.

It took him quite a while, but eventually he was able to set up the trap. He told Toothless to wait up above as he stood just mere meters away from the trap. He would act as bait, and while the dragon nip might knock out Toothless, the gas was basically harmless to him.

He settled in to wait, watching the entrance warily.

It wasn't long before the dragons simply decided to rush past the eel gas and into the clearing. There were so many of them and only the two of them; they figured that one of them would get through and be able to win the fight before the amount of casualties piled up.

They looked confused when they saw only Hiccup there, but rushed ahead anyway, eager to get out of range of the smell of the eels. It wasn't long before most of them were gathered there, and Hiccup waited seconds before yelling Toothless' name.

The night fury acquiesced and the sound of the Night Fury's shriek ripped through the air, startling the dragons into looking above them. They caught a glimpse of the trap seconds before it caught on fire, spreading rapidly until all of the nip was smoking. The gas filtered through the air seconds later and the dragons started dropping.

Hiccup blew on his whistle hard, before running backwards as fast as he could. He didn't want to take the chances that one of the dragons would be unaffected by the gas; without Toothless, he was basically a sitting duck.

Suddenly, a Gronkle was above him; apparently it hadn't caught a whiff of the gas since it was such a slow flier. He heard Toothless' distressed shriek, and his heart was doing a good job of imitating his best friend.

But he wasn't helpless. He still had one more trick.

Trembling, he reached forward and scratched underneath the Gronkle's neck, looking for the sweet point that made all dragons drop. As soon as he pressed it, the Gronkle's eyes rolled upward and it fell forward. Hiccup was barely able to scramble out from underneath it, and watched as the Gronkle hit the sandy floor.

Flushed with adrenaline, he turned to face Toothless as the night fury landed next to him. He buried his face into the warm scales, laughing happily as they both turned to look at the chaos in front of them.

They did it.

They had won against a whole Nest.

Suddenly, defeating the Red Death didn't seem so impossible.

* * *

><p>The celebration lasted for a day. As soon as the dragons had awoken, they had been incredulous that the little human had been able to defeat them. Suddenly, Toothless was the envy of the whole Nest, a far cry from the dragons thinking the night fury weak for allowing a human to ride him.<p>

The younger ones crowded around Hiccup constantly, incredibly impressed that he was able to knock all of them out in one move. It didn't help that the dragon nip had not only knocked them out, but also made them feel good. Most of the younger ones wanted more of the nip, but Hiccup had refused, not wanting them to get addicted to it.

And secretly, he didn't want them to build up a resistance to them in case he needed to use them in the future.

The alpha was extremely impressed with him as well, even asking if the pair of them wanted to join their Nest instead of their old one. Hiccup had refused; he loved Windwalker and the barren desert habitat didn't suit him. He missed the trees and the waterfall of his old Nest, and if they weren't so pressed on time, he would've wanted to go back to tell them the good news.

The amount of praise and wonder the dragons treated them with was intoxicating and went straight to Toothless' head. Toothless was already a vain dragon, but the admiration in even older dragons' eyes made the night fury's chest puff up with pride.

Hiccup endured it all, especially since most of his best friend's pride hinged off of Hiccup's own accomplishments. Toothless loved praise of Hiccup. The dragons figured that out early on, and now spent most of their compliments on how Toothless had raised Hiccup extraordinarily well. Most even commented on how they wanted a human now as well. Hiccup was a resourceful one, being able to knock out the whole Nest with just his imagination, and they wanted to see if all the other humans were like that too.

Hiccup tended to evade the topic when they turned to him, letting Toothless take care of it all. He didn't mind if things played out that way, and besides, in some way, he _was _Toothless' human. Toothless did play a big part in raising him from when he was fourteen, and he wasn't lying when he told the alpha that Toothless had taught him a number of important things.

Eventually, it came time for them to leave. The younger dragons were inconsolable, complaining that Hiccup hadn't finished teaching them and they weren't ready to say goodbye yet. Hiccup didn't let them sway him; time was too precious and they had already wasted enough time in this Nest.

* * *

><p>They were only an hour's flight away from the Nest when an arrow whizzed past them. It was lucky that the arrow was way off its mark because neither of the pair had been paying much attention. The sound alerted their senses though, and with only a moment's hesitation, Hiccup nudged Toothless into doing a spin, barely dodging more arrows.<p>

They would be able to dodge the arrows until they were out of range, but some part of Hiccup was incensed. He knew he shouldn't be; the people who shot the arrows were scared, not bloodthirsty. A lone dragon in the middle of the day never boded well for villages.

But it reminded him of Berk, and their immutable stance on dragons. And he wanted to teach these new humans a lesson they wouldn't forget.

It only took a moment to find out where the arrows were coming from and only a few minutes more for the pair to reach the archers. As they got closer, fear strayed the archers' hands, sending their aim awry. Any arrows that got close enough to the pair was easily knocked away by Toothless' paw and tail or deflected by Hiccup's armor.

He landed right inside the center of the village, making sure that their backs was against a wall to ensure that no one would be able to sneak up on them. He knew he should be more cautious; the villagers of Berk had ways to deal with a dragon permanently and there was no reason these villagers wouldn't be as skilled.

But he was still drunk off the success of gaining the new Nest's allegiance, and some part of him believed that he would be able to convince the humans.

Their landing didn't go unnoticed. Shouts from the archers had roused the other villagers, and it wasn't long before the pair was surrounded. They were Vikings, wearing the traditional garb that Hiccup had grown up with and reminded Hiccup greatly of Berk.

He ignored the pang of pain that had come with that realization, instead scanning the crowd for the chief. It wasn't hard to tell who the chief was; he carried himself in much the same way as Stoick did and the villagers parted respectfully for him so he could reach the front of the crowd.

Hiccup spoke before the chief did, though he didn't remove his mask, "Your archers shot at me."

The whole village startled at his words; he highly suspected that none of them had actually realized he was human. The chief's expression turned sour at the realization and he scowled at Hiccup and Toothless. "And it is a pity they had missed. You spared us the trouble though by being arrogant enough to come into our village with just the two of you."

"I'm not scared," he responded truthfully. None of their weapons would be able to pierce his armor and he and Toothless would be able to take off before the villagers would be able to react. "I know Vikings, and you cannot hope to defeat us."

"Us? You mean you and your pet dragon?" asked the chief, an expression of pure disbelief on his face.

The utter shock on the chief's face sent a surge of anger throughout Hiccup; it reminded him so much of his father's lack of ability to listen to him. "Toothless is not my pet dragon. He's my partner."

"What does it matter if he's your pet or not? You both will die today," the chief paused to heft his heavy hammer more firmly into his right hand, "and your heads set on spikes to send a reminder to any other humans stupid enough to ride a dragon."

Hiccup scowled, "Don't you see? Dragons and humans can _work_ together. We shouldn't be fighting."

"Dragons have raided us for centuries, boy. You won't be convincing any of us that dragons aren't evil."

"Why won't you listen to me?" asked Hiccup exasperatedly.

"I'm sick of this talk. We fight now!"

The chief started to rush forward, forcing Hiccup and Toothless to get ready to take off. Before the chief was even halfway there, there were shouts from the villagers and the sound of beating wings filled the air.

The shock of seeing so many dragons outside of a raid stayed the Vikings' hands and they all watched open-mouthed as six dragons settled protectively around the smaller pair.

"Why are you guys here?" asked Hiccup in Dragonese. "Didn't we tell you guys not to follow us?"

A changewing answered without a trace of shame in her words. "We were only going to follow you for a bit to make sure you guys don't run into trouble."

"Yeah!" backed up a Zippleback, with the right head continuing the conversation, "And good thing we came considering you two decided to land right in enemy territory."

"But," huffed Hiccup, a frown marring his features, "didn't we already prove that we can take care of ourselves?"

This time, a monstrous Nightmare responded, "Toothless did say you have some silly ideas. We just wanted to make sure you two would get out safe."

Hiccup threw up his arms in exasperation, "Toothless! What'd you tell them?" He was annoyed to hear the other dragons' laughing at his actions, and glared balefully down at the night fury.

"You monster! You're a traitor to your own kind!"

The harsh words brought Hiccup's attention back to the village and he turned to set his glare on them. He climbed off of Toothless, stalking toward the Vikings until he was at the very tip of the dragon's circle. He was just so frustrated that he spit out the first words that came into his mind.

"You thought dragons were dangerous before? Dragons don't understand how humans work, but _I_ do. I can teach them how to raze your crops to the ground so you won't even have a chance to survive winter. I'll burn down your village in less than an hour and I'll have them devour all your livestock. And they'll _listen_ to me. So I ask again, do you really want to cross me?"

The sight of Hiccup conversing with other dragons must be a truly frightening sight if the chief actually sank to his knees and bowed his head. "What would you have us do?"

Hiccup hesitated at the sight, shame creeping into his heart as he thought back to his actions. He hadn't wanted to frighten them – he didn't want to think about what he was becoming, a man who broke villages and bent them to their will. He hadn't been putting much thought upon his words, and seeing the consequences laid out in front of him was heartbreaking.

But it was too late to go back now. The words were already said, and to be honest, he wanted them to repent. They had shot the first arrow and that action alone told him that these people were hurting dragons.

He was still human, but he belonged to the dragons.

"Swear allegiance to me," he said quietly, moving past the protective circle of dragons and ending up next to the chief. The chief stiffened at his words, and to his credit, barely flinched when Hiccup gently lowered his hand to rest on the chief's shoulder.

"Swear you'll stop hunting dragons. I know it's in your history, but I'm proof enough that the dragons are good, aren't I? Things will be different around here, but it'll be a good different, I promise."

"But the raids?" the chief spoke up gruffly. "Are we not allowed to defend ourselves?"

Hiccup smiled wryly at the question, even though the mask hid his expression. "You won't have to worry about that anymore. As long as you don't attack them, they won't attack you. You have the Dragon Lord's word."

"The Dragon Lord, eh?" the chief repeated quietly. Suddenly, the chief looked upward, his stern brown eyes flitting around until it rested on where he probably thought Hiccup's eyes were. "This is a small price to pay for peace, little Dragon Lord, if your words are true."

"You're under my protection, but only until you harm a dragon. And if you do, I swear to Odin, I will make your village pay."

It only took moments for the chief to swear allegiance to him and the atmosphere lightened considerably after that. Hiccup hadn't meant to make another village his; he didn't want to have more lives under his protection. But he had seen his father in the bowed figure of this village's chief, and something inside of him had broke. The chief was only doing what was best for his village, and what right did Hiccup have to demand allegiance?

He wasn't made to be responsible for others, even if he was a chief's son. He had fled from that role, and shouldn't that make him ineligible to be a leader?

But here he was, trying to create peace between two entities that have been at war forever. And maybe he wasn't the right person for the job. And maybe he wasn't meant to be a leader.

But he was the only one who could be the bridge between dragons and humans. And even if he wasn't the best option, he was all they've got.

And he wasn't going to let them down.

* * *

><p>AN: AH, I'm sorry, this quarter really kicked my butt...but it's over now. This is so late cuz I had this on my computer at home...and didn't return till now ahha. Anyway hope you enjoyed, please review and fav and alert, they make my day :3


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